Power Rangers: Last Engage 3: Rotation: Humbling River
by rylansato
Summary: Riley is in Ishinomaki, Japan a few months before the earthquake and tsunami is supposed to hit. She knows she can't change history but after encountering a flute wielding stranger who claims he will bring forth the end of the world, she wonders if that disaster was supposed to happen at all.
1. Chapter 1

POWER RANGERS: LAST ENGAGE: ROTATION: HUMBLING RIVER

1

Riley sat upright in the bed in her hospital room. She was mostly fine aside from still having the taste of saltwater in her mouth. She wondered how long she had been in the ocean before she was found. She realized that wasn't her immediate concern and thinking about it wouldn't do any good as it did nothing for her right now. She just knew Zedd was behind this but what she didn't understand is why put her here of all places. Why not put her closer to the time the tsunami would hit so that it would be more certain she'd die? That also brought up another issue. Should she warn them about the tsunami that will hit in March of next year? She watched enough Star Trek to know that saving even one life in the past can cause a major change in the future.

A doctor and two police officers stepped into the room. Riley was wondering when they'd come to ask her questions; questions she couldn't answer, to be more precise, questions she shouldn't answer.

"Feeling better?" The doctor asked.

"A little," Riley said. "Can't seem to get that saltwater taste out of my mouth."

The doctor let out a small laugh. "That happens. These officers would like to ask you some questions if you're up for it."

"I'll do what I can," she said.

"Good," the doctor said before stepping out of the way to allow the officers to get closer. After introducing themselves, they took a seat in front of Riley while pulling out small notebooks.

"Can you remember how you ended up in the ocean? There was no other debris of any kind except for the piece of wood that you held onto."

Riley shook her head. It was partially the truth as she didn't know what happened after being grabbed by Bandora. Then she remembered something. This country had a ranger team, several in fact. She could reveal her ranger status and not be considered insane. She wasn't going to reveal that she was from the future.

"Do you guys know of the Power Rangers?" she asked.

"Power Rangers?" the cops asked in unison.

Riley realized that they'd use a different name in a country. She stood up and slowly stepped to the closet. She pulled her morpher from her pants pocket.

"I don't know what you call them here but they are a team that wear different colors and they fight monsters."

"Ah," one cop said. "You mean Sentai."

Riley nodded, not entirely sure that's what she was talking about but it was something to go on. "Yes, one of those teams protects the emperor."

"Yes, those are the Shinkengers," the cop said. Riley seemed more convinced they were talking about the same thing.

"Anyway, I'm one of them in America," she said.

The doctor and two cops were clearly not expecting that comment. Riley held up her morpher as proof.

"We have a few teams," one cop said. "They usually will travel all over the country if they need to."

"They don't have bases of operation?" Riley asked.

"Only the Shinkengers have a stationary base," the cop said. "The others have mobile bases. We've had to call the rangers here a few times. They're pretty quick to respond."

"Were you in a ranger related battle and that's how you ended up in the ocean?" the other cop asked.

"My team was ambushed and ultimately separated," Riley sad. "I don't know where they are."

Suddenly, Riley heard a flute being played. The tune sounded dark and unappealing. She went to the window to see a man standing on the roof of a nearby building. The tone was very loud. She looked to the two cops who were just as confused.

"We should go check that out," one cop said. They got up and left while Riley stared at the man through the window. There was something strange about the guy. It didn't appear that he was merely practicing. She also couldn't understand why the tune was so loud. From what she could tell, the flute was an old fashioned wooden one.

She watched the cops approach the guy. The guy stopped playing and took a glance at the cops. He let out a sigh and began playing again. This time it was a different tune but it was equally as depressing as the first tune. The sky grew dark with overcast clouds. Riley looked up and saw a swirling hole open up. Some bat like creatures came flying down from the opening toward the flute player and the cops.

"Oh, shit," Riley said as she darted out of the room. The doctor attempted to protest but she was already down the hall before he could mutter a word. Nurses and doctors jumped out of the way of the sprinting Riley. She held her morpher out in front of her.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!" she called pressing the button. "WHITE RANGER POWER!"

She ran outside and leapt to the rooftop of the nearby building with the flute player. She drew Saba while I the air. She landed in a battle-ready stance. The bat creatures flew down like dive bombers, aiming for the cops. They were almost to them when several laser beams struck them, knocking them off course. The flute player turned his attention to Riley who was aiming Saba at the creatures.

"Another nuisance," the player said. He started playing again but Riley charged him, interrupting him.

"Who the hell are you?" Riley asked.

"I'm nobody," he said. "Just someone that will bring about the end of the world."


	2. Chapter 2

"Riley-nee-san," a little girl shouted. Riley turned around to see a little girl hopping out of a van and tossing her backpack back into the vehicle before sprinting over to her.

"Hello, Hina-chan. How was school?" Riley asked. Hina was a 3rd grader at an elementary school on the outskirts of Ishinomaki.

"It was fine," Hina said. We took a walk on the nature trail on the hill behind our school."

"You did? You guys went out in this snow?" The snow had been really coming down all day.

Hina nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we go in different weather to see how different things are in the different seasons."

"And what did you see?"

"I could see all of Kamaya," Hina said. "And the Kitakami River. It's such a pretty area,"

Riley had to force a smile and suppress her bad thoughts regarding the utter destruction of the Kamaya area come March. She was enjoying her time in Ishinomaki, but it was ruined by her knowledge of the impeding tsunami. She wanted to desperately tell everyone about it to save their lives, but she couldn't change the future. Then her thoughts went to the man with the flute. She hadn't encountered him since that day on the roof but his comment about ending the world made her wonder.

"This whole area is very pretty," Riley said forcing her tragedy ridden thoughts aside. "Especially in the winter."

"How long will you stay here?" Hina asked.

Riley shrugged. "As long as I need to."

Hina didn't really understand that answer but it meant that Riley would stay in Ishinomaki for at least some time. Riley saw Hina's cheerful face suddenly change to one of fear. Riley felt a change of emotion herself. Something wasn't right.

Suddenly, a dark and dreadful tune filled the air. Riley had heard it before. A swirling vortex appeared in the sky and more of those humanoid bat creatures appeared in the sky. They descended upon the city.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!" Riley shouted as she pulled her morpher. "WHITE RANGER POWER!"

Once Riley had fully morphed into her ranger form, she drew Saba and readied herself for battle. Once the civilians ran off in the opposite direction, she charged forward. She slashed to the left and then to the right, taking down a creature with each slash. She spun around with a roundhouse kick taking out two more creatures. She flipped Saba around and aimed his face at the creatures, letting him fire lasers from his eyes. More creatures fell from the laser attacks. She flipped Saba back around to use him as a sword once again.

"You know, my laser attacks are more efficient," Saba said.

Riley smirked. "I know. I'm just pissed off and need to let off some steam. Plus, I need you to locate that flute playing bastard."

"Got it," Saba said. "Give me a moment."

"Take your time," Riley said. "I've got a lot of pent up rage to let loose." She slashed, punched and kicked more creatures. Riley ran Saba's blade across the chests, faces and throats of the creatures.

"Found him," Saba said. "He's on a nearby roof."

"The fucker likes rooftops," Riley said.

The man with the flute calmly played his dark tune as he controlled the bat creatures. The fear and panic from the people gave him more power toward his ultimate plan.

From the thickness of the falling snow, the white ranger came down for an attack. Saba's blade glowed brightly. Riley slashed downward, launching a crescent shaped energy wave toward her opponent. The flute wielder stopped playing to dodge Riley's slash attack.

"You again?" he said.

"That's my line," Riley said. "I won't let you destroy this place with a tsunami."

The flute wielder's eyes widened. "How do you know of my plan?"

"I'm not from this time," Riley said swinging Saba downward once again. The flute wielder spun out of the way.

"I see," he said. "You're from the future. I knew there was something off about you. Regardless, I'll kill you now before you can stop me." He played his flute once again. More creatures rained down from the vortex. This time there were a lot more than before. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd kill her now. This might be more than she could handle but she'd be damned if she'd just let this guy do what he wanted.

She leapt down from the building and started her attack. The creatures kept coming with no end to them. She slashed, punched, kicked, slammed heads into walls, impaled faces with various objects. She was using everything she could think of to keep her ahead of them and not get overwhelmed.

A loud voice filled the air as if it was being projected by a loudspeaker. Everybody stopped moving, including the creatures. A white dotted line appeared between Riley and the creatures.

"THE TRAIN IS ARRIVING! PLEASE STAND BEHIND THE WHITE LINE!"

"What the hell?" Riley said aloud.

Suddenly, a multicolored train swooped in and ran over many of the creatures. It came to a stop and seven girls stepped out from it. They took position while holding small trains.

"ToQ change!" They said in unison.

"NOW TRANSFORMING! PLEASE STAND BEHIND THE WHITE LINE!"

Another white dotted line appeared between them and the creatures. The creatures tried to attack but were stopped by an invisible shield generated by the white line. The seven girls transformed into power rangers and did a choreographed pose.

"RESSHA SENTAI TOQGER!"

"Train Rangers?" Riley said to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

The last of the bat creatures had fled from the rangers. Riley had just sliced through one of them with Saba when she noticed the rest were retreating.

"Aw, no more?" Riley asked jokingly as she holstered her weapon. She looked at the blood covering her. "Maybe I should have asked for a different color."

The red ranger from the other team walked up to her, wiping the blood from her sword. The sword disappeared from sight and the red ranger took off her helmet.

"I'm Naoko. ToQ Red."

Riley took off her own helmet. "I'm Riley. I'm...White." The two shook hands. "I appreciate the assistance."

"We got a call about some disturbances up here," Naoko said. "We were told a single ranger was up here fighting bat like creatures."

"You guys got up here really quick," Riley said.

"Our team is the fastest of the Japanese rangers because we use the Rainbow Line and as you can see we're not a normal train service," Naoko said.

"We were unaware of any one man ranger teams, let alone a foreigner ranger in the country," ToQ Blue said.

"To be honest, I'm not even from this time," Riley said. "I'm from a few years in the future and I don't know how to get back. This guy with a flute appeared and I'm more worried about him than I am getting back at the moment."

"I'm sure he's nothing we can't handle," Naoko said.

"I haven't been able to lay a finger on him," Riley said. "He plays this flute with a terrible sound and it's as though he has an unlimited amount of those bat creatures to use. Any time I get close to him, I get swarmed by those bastards."

"I didn't see him when we arrived," Naoko said.

"He was on that rooftop over there but he disappeared when you arrived. He said he was going to bring about the end of the world."

"All the bad guys say that," Naoko said.

"Well considering what I know I think he tries to start it," Riley said.

"What do you know?" Naoko asked.

"An earthquake will cause a giant tsunami and slam into this place. It will kill about twenty thousand people."

"Are you sure?" Naoko asked.

"Of course I'm sure," Riley said. "What kind of question is that? It will happen on March eleventh about a quarter to three in the afternoon. The tsunami will hit roughly forty-five minutes to an hour after the quake."

"Have you told the authorities?" ToQ Blue asked.

"Who would I tell?" Riley asked. "Would they honestly believe me that I'm from the future and I bring word of a devastating event that comes in a month? People can only believe so much."

"How do we know you're not messing with us now? You could be an evil ranger," ToQ Blue said.

"How do I know you're not?" Riley asked. "If I was evil, I'd just flat out attack and not come up with such an elaborate story. What could I possibly gain by telling you that a tsunami is coming?"

"People panicking," ToQ Blue said.

"Is that something that monsters get off on?" Riley asked. "I thought they'd just want to kill and destroy."

"Some are more manipulative than others," Naoko said. "Blue brings up a good point that you may not be who you claim to be."

Riley sighed as she put on her helmet. "Well, you can sit around and decide whether I'm evil or not while I figure out a way to defeat this guy and possibly save thousands of lives."

She turned and walked away a bit frustrated. The rangers watched her until she turned the corner. Naoko turned to her teammates.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I'm skeptical," Blue said. "A ranger acting alone with the all too convenient story of being sent here by some unknown power? Something isn't right."

"I believe her," ToQ Purple said. "I didn't get any bad vibes from her. She appeared to be genuine."

"You always try to see the good in people," Blue said.

"And you always try to see the worst in people," ToQ Green said stepping up next to Purple. "You're always skeptical of others."

"It's not a bad thing," Blue said.

"And that's why you'll never find a guy," Green said. "You're always thinking they're after something else when they talk to you."

Blue stepped forward as did Green. They stood close to each other and stared the other down through their black visors.

"Enough," Naoko said. "We'll keep an eye on this white ranger and see what she's up to. If we find out she's on our side then we'll help her and if she's actually a spy for the Shadow Line then we'll eliminate her."

Riley was still frustrated as she walked down the street. She pulled Saba from her holster, holding him up to eye level.

"Why would they think that I could be against them?" she asked.

"From the information I have from our time, the Train Rangers used to have a different orange ranger. They recruited her and was best friends with the blue ranger. It turned out she was a member of the Shadow Line."

"Shadow Line?"

"Another evil empire wanting to take over control of something," Saba said. "In this case, it's the railroad system."

"At least they start small," Riley said. "Then what happened?"

"They had to destroy the orange ranger," Saba said.

"But they had an orange ranger with them," Riley said. "I thought they would have destroyed the powers because it would be a sore spot for the others.

"I'd imagine they still need a person to fill that spot despite the stigma," Saba said.

"You know a great deal," Riley said.

"Ishimaru's research is extensive and I'm her backup file if anything happens to her copies."

"Is it that in depth with all the teams?"

"Yes, with the exception of the very first team. No one knows where they came from or the location of their base. They appeared centuries ago. They inspired others to create their own teams to assist them. Some of the older teams such as JAKQ or as they later became the Blitzkrieg Rangers, Battle Fever and the Samurai Rangers have worked with the original team before but never learned anything from them. They always remained in their morphed form but were cordial when interacting with other teams. With the increase of ranger teams, they've essentially disappeared. They haven't been seen since before the turn of the century."

"That'd be a fun adventure to go on," Riley said. "Trying to find the first ranger team. If they existed for centuries then they're aliens, immortal or their powers are passed down and those receiving the powers have to keep it a secret. What about this guy we're fighting? Do your files include any monsters that could be linked to this guy?"

"Nothing that fits him exactly," Saba said. "There have been several flute wielders."

"Well just give me a few," Riley said.

"Possession Boma was a monster from the Hundred Boma Tribes and destroyed by the Supercharger Rangers."

"Still alive," Riley said. "Destroyed monsters don't do me any good in this case."

"Leh Nafel has used a flute before. She is a field commander that often battles with the Prism Rangers. There's your brother the Green Ranger but he's not a monster. There is Hell's Angel who has appeared from time to time fighting against several different teams such as the Blitzkrieg Rangers and Battle Fever. He has mostly acted like the Pied Piper and hypnotized children. He can cause earthquakes and..."

"That's the one," Riley said. "If he can cause earthquakes then it would stand to reason those earthquakes could spawn a tsunami. This could be his human form that we've encountered."

"But the question remains as to why he's doing this here," Saba said. "There are more populated areas to destroy in such a manner."

"Maybe this place has a personal connection."


End file.
